The Apple Watch price will not be a barrier to the device dominating the wearables market, retailer John Lewis has claimed.
With Apple having unveiled its first wearable last night ahead of an ‘early 2015’ release, the Cupertino-based company has confirmed the Moto 360 rival will set wannabe owners back $349 (£217). That’s significantly more than the $199 being charged for the Samsung Gear Live.
What’s more, this $349 is for the entry level model too. Expect the fees to increase sharply for additional configurations. Although no official UK pricing has yet been confirmed, we would anticipate the smartwatch starting from around the £299 marker.
Despite this being well over £100 more than many Android Wear-based smartwatches, John Lewis has suggested this won’t stop Apple storming to control of the wearables space.
“I don’t think the pricing is going to be a barrier,” Will Jones, Tablets and Computing Buyer at John Lewis said.
Speaking exclusively with TrustedReviews he added: “From the look of it, the Apple Watch will be a really high quality device. That will go a long way to justifying the price.”
Although the Apple Watch looks set to be one of the most expensive wearables on the market, Jones has suggested that in relation to the traditional watch market, this premium fee is relatively low key.
“I thought that it could have been a lot more expensive,” he told us.
“If you look at it in the wider context of the watch market, there are a lot of watch from world famous brands which costs thousands and tens of thousands of pounds per device.
“If you look at the wider category of what people wear on their wrist, then actually it’s relatively low priced.”
Despite being prepped to give your wallet a good beating, John Lewis has predicted big things for the Apple Watch.
“There will be plenty of Apple enthusiasts who I’m sure will be waiting for next year,” Jones said.
“They have laid out what they are doing and it has really impressed people.”
Read More: Apple Watch vs Android Wear